For various reasons associated in particular with greater comfort of use (softness, emollience and the like), current cosmetic compositions are usually in the form of an emulsion of the oil-in-water (O/W) type consisting of an aqueous-dispersing-continuous phase and an oily-dispersed-discontinuous phase, or of an emulsion of the water-in-oil (W/O) type consisting of an oily-dispersing-continuous phase and an aqueous-dispersed-discontinuous phase. O/W emulsions are preferred in the cosmetics field, because O/W emulsions comprise an aqueous phase as external phase, which gives the emulsions, when applied to the skin, a fresher, less greasy and lighter feel than W/O emulsions.
Challenges have been encountered in obtaining O/W emulsions including Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice or aloe vera compared to O/W emulsions including water. One of the reasons for difficulty in forming O/W emulsions including aloe vera is that aloe vera has different properties than water. More specifically, aloe vera has a different pH, has a different surface tension, and also includes amino acids that are not present in water. The surface tension of water is 55.73 dyne/cm and a pH of 7, based on temperature and purity level. In contrast, the surface tension of aloe vera is ˜49.75 dyne/cm and pH is 4, based on temperature and purity level. The different material strength of aloe vera, compared to water, results in a lower surface tension, making it harder to include in cosmetic formulations such as O/W emulsions. The amino acids present in aloe vera increase the difficulty in suspending aloe vera particularly when the aloe vera is not suspended by heated emulsifiers and surfactants. Heating destroys and degrades some of the amino acids in the aloe vera, thereby decreasing the healing properties of aloe vera.
Most cosmetic compositions include preserving agents having antibacterial properties. Use of parabens as a preserving agent has received consumer scrutiny; however, paraben-free systems are difficult to formulate because paraben-free systems use preservatives that reduce emulsion stability and decrease viscosity of formulations.
A cosmetic composition and method of producing cosmetic compositions that do not suffer from one or more of the above drawbacks would be desirable in the art.